The most marginal seat in the country

The Victorian seat of Corangamite which includes a fast growing urban corridor taking in western Geelong and towns on the great ocean road, as well as a large rural base is the most marginal seat in the country.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Labor believes if it can hold on to the most marginal seat in the country, it stands a good chance of winning the poll.

The seat of Corangamite includes a fast-growing urban corridor which takes in Western Geelong and towns along the Great Ocean Road, as well as a large rural base.

Labor holds the seat by just 0.3 of one per cent.

The Liberal Party had been expected to win the seat in 2010 fielding a well-known former journalist with strong local ties to the area.

Well this time around Sarah Henderson believes her grassroots campaigning will get her over the line.

Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS, REPORTER: It's one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the country. 25,000 new voters have enrolled in the seat of Corangamite since the last federal election.

BRUCE HARWOOD, GEELONG DEPUTY MAYOR: It may well dictate a government, so I think people will be more than engaged this time around in the election, in the candidates, what they're saying, what they're promising to deliver.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Corangamite takes in Geelong's western suburbs, the seachange towns like Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Torquay, the iconic Great Ocean Road and a large rural interior to the west and north - in short, many elements of modern Australia and the most marginal seat in the country.

SARAH HENDERSON, LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR CORANGAMITE: It's certainly a seat that we regard as a must-win and we're working very, very hard to win this seat.

DARREN CHEESEMAN, LABOR MEMBER FOR CORANGAMITE: We're engaging every way we can to get a really strong jobs message out there, a very strong Labor message out there about what a Kevin Rudd government will mean for the people of Geelong, but obviously the Liberal Party are spending a lot of money and very much want to win Corangamite back.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Darren Cheeseman won the seat for Labor in 2007 for the first time in 80 years and surprised many by holding it in 2010, despite a big-spending campaign by former journalist and lawyer Sarah Henderson. He's confident the new growth in the seat's urban areas will help him hold Corangamite. After a redistribution, the margin is just 0.3 of one per cent. Now there's also the Rudd factor.

DARREN CHEESEMAN: Kevin Rudd has dramatically improved our chances. But it's gonna be very close. I'm certainly going in as the underdog. Every vote will count and I'm hopeful that with a very strong Kevin Rudd message in this community, we can prevail and we can win Corangamite.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The area has been hit by the downsizing of the local car industry. Ford will cease manufacturing after 80 years.

DARREN CHEESEMAN: There's a mixture of both local and federal issues, but I think jobs is absolutely at the top of people's list.

SARAH HENDERSON: Jobs is critically important in this region. We have seen thousands of jobs lost or are under threat and that is really causing some real pain and that's why it's so important to turn this economy around, to get the budget back in some sort of control.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Like any marginal seat, a mixture of local and federal issues are on peoples' minds. There are a high number of small businesses in areas like Torquay, so issues like cutting the company tax rate will be important.

Martin duke, Torquay commerce association: Small business people are going to really have the biggest say on what happens here. They're gonna have a massive say. Their employees are gonna have a massive say. We want this town to survive and Corangamite to survive.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Corangamite's diversity distinguishes it from many seats. It was largely regional until the massive urban growth in Geelong and on the coast in the last decade dramatically altered its demographics.

SARAH HENDERSON: In a seat like this which is very diverse, we are fighting the small local issues and we're also focusing on the very big issues like of course today's announcement of the company tax cut, which is a wonderful announcement for small business and for delivering jobs right across this nation.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: Across Corangamite there are dozens and dozens of small towns like this one and the election will be decided by just a few hundred votes here, so both candidates know that picking up a few votes here and there in towns like this will be crucial.

Sarah Henderson hopes to chip away at Labor's hold on Corangamite in its regional areas. She lost the seat in 2010 by just 710 votes after preferences. The redistribution has cut that margin again.

SARAH HENDERSON: We are taking every part of the electorate seriously. My slogan and my approach is a strong local voice and that's the way I'm going about my business.

HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: In four weeks, we'll know who's been listening.

Hamish Fitzsimmons, Lateline.

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